Turkish prosecutors have seized the entire asset portfolio of illegal betting kingpin Veysel Şahin, including his companies, bank accounts and cryptocurrency holdings, as authorities said they had also initiated procedures to seek his extradition to Turkey from an unnamed country.
In a statement on Friday the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said it had ordered the seizure of all movable and immovable property belonging to Şahin, along with his shares in companies and partnerships, deposits and investment accounts held at banks and financial institutions and assets located in cryptocurrency markets and exchanges.
The measures were taken as part of an investigation into alleged violations of Turkey’s anti-gambling law and money laundering statutes, prosecutors said. The investigation is focusing on Şahin’s alleged role in operating illegal betting platforms and providing infrastructure support to those systems.
Prosecutors said analyses by the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) found that Şahin had generated unlawful profits through the activities under investigation.
To prevent the laundering and concealment of the proceeds of crime, prosecutors ordered the seizure of assets believed to have been obtained through illegal betting. The decision was later approved by a criminal court of peace.
The prosecutor’s office also said that cryptocurrency assets worth approximately €460 million held in accounts linked to Şahin at global firms had been frozen by the companies where the accounts are registered.
In addition, authorities confirmed that extradition proceedings had been launched to secure Şahin’s return to Turkey.
Şahin was arrested in 2017 and later sentenced to 10-and-a-half years in prison. He was detained after traveling from northern Cyprus to visit his father in Turkey’s Sivas province and was taken into custody as he was preparing to return by private jet.
He was granted controversial release decisions in 2018 and again in March 2023, both of which were later overturned. Şahin ultimately completed his sentence and was released on April 14, 2023.
Less than a month later, he was convicted in a separate case on charges of violating Turkey’s gambling law, forming a criminal organization and laundering criminal proceeds. He received a combined sentence of more than 21 years in prison, along with a fine of 1.66 million Turkish lira ($38,000).
Şahin remained free pending appeal and later fled abroad.
Broader crackdown on illegal betting
The asset seizure comes amid a broader crackdown on illegal gambling networks in Turkey, as authorities intensify efforts to dismantle online betting operations and their financial backbones.
In recent months, prosecutors have targeted payment platforms, electronic money institutions and cryptocurrency channels accused of facilitating illegal betting transactions, while regulators have moved to suspend or revoke licenses of companies linked to money laundering.
Gambling remains tightly restricted in Turkey. Casinos were banned in 1998, and non-state online gambling was outlawed in 2006, though state-run lottery and betting services remain legal.
Turkish authorities say such activities fuel addiction and drain billions of lira from the economy.